NY Court Deems “Vape: The Musical” a Fair Use Parody of “Grease”
On May 12, 2022, a sketch comedy group successfully convinced a United States District Court Judge in the Southern District of New York that its play “Vape: The Musical” was a “fair use” parody of the film version; of the musical “Grease.” Plaintiff’s motion for judgment on the pleadings was granted in its entirety, and…
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On September 9th, 2021, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court decision in a dispute between a former attorney and a storage company in Los Banos, California. Richard Bell (“Bell”) sued Wilmott Storage Services LLC (“Wilmott”) for posting an exact copy of a photo of the Indianapolis skyline,…
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On July 30th, 2021, a Supreme Court for the State of New York, dismissed a breach of contract suit over proceeds derived from the sale of rights in Bob Dylan’s album, Desire. (Note: “Supreme Court” is the designation given to the lowest level state courts in New York). Following its release in 1976, Desire topped…
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On December 23, 2020, a California federal judge granted Netflix’s motion to strike the defamation claims from the lawsuit brought by the attorneys of the defunct law firm, Mossack Fonseca, for their depiction in “The Laundromat” (the “Film”). The film starring Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, and Antonio Banderas is a black comedy about the Panama…
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On February 23, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court held that Stephen King’s protagonist in “The Dark Tower” book series did not copy the hero in late comic book writer William B. DuBay’s “The Rook” series. Benjamin DuBay, the nephew of William DuBay, filed a lawsuit in 2017 alleging that fictional character Roland Deschain of “The…
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On October 23, 2020, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District affirmed the Superior Court of Orange County’s ruling that James Bellino, the ex-husband of former Real Housewives of Orange County (“RHOC”) star Alexis Bellino, can continue with his claims for defamation and the false light in his lawsuit against current RHOC star…
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